Digital-only Xbox One Planned for 2019 Claim Rumours

RUMOURS: Microsoft insiders claim that a new model of Xbox One will be released next year that won’t take discs but could cost as little as £80

Microsoft insiders claim that a new model of Xbox One will be released next year that won’t take discs but could cost as little as £80. According to their own E3 conference, Microsoft are working on multiple new consoles at the moment and while at least one of them is assumed to be a next gen successor to the Xbox One news has leaked out on what one of the others may be. The normally reliable tech website Thurrott, which has proven links to Microsoft, claims that an Xbox One console without a disc drive will be released next spring. With the rise of digital downloads over physical purchases a disc-less console makes sense, but its real benefit is to lower the price of the console below that of even the Xbox One S – since not including the disc drive saves considerably on parts and manufacture. Thurrott claims the new model could be priced at as little as $100, which is the equivalent of £77.

The site also suggests that Microsoft will try to make the transition to digital-only as easy as possible with a ‘disc-to-digital’ programme where you can trade in physical games in return for a download code at participating shops – at least in the US. The new model is completely separate from the next gen console which fans have nicknamed Xbox Two and which is believed to have the internal codename of Scarlett. Whether it’ll have a disc drive or not has apparently not yet been decided, but the biggest question is when it will be released.

Current rumours suggest 2020, but just today Microsoft confirmed that it, unlike Sony, will be at E3 next year with ‘a lot to share with fans’. Considering they already hinted at next consoles and games at this year’s E3 it seems likely they’ll show even more next year…